PARIS (AP) – French far-right leader Marine Le Pen rallied her party’s troops on Monday not to mourn their loss in France’s presidential election a day earlier, but to plan how to orchestrate a victory in June’s parliamentary vote and a majority can win seats in the National Assembly.
Centrist President Emmanuel Macron beat her 58.5% to 41.5% to win re-election on Sunday, but Le Pen showed her highest support yet in her three attempts to become France’s leader. That gave momentum to the 53-year-old nationalist as she stormed into the so-called “third ballot” in hopes of turning the tables on Macron’s majority in parliament.
Le Pen called a national meeting of her far-right National Rally party on Monday. French media reports that Le Pen told party officials she was trying to re-represent her working-class stronghold in northern France could not be immediately confirmed.
Le Pen’s strong support on Sunday exposed a European Union nation fragmented between what it calls “France of the forgotten” — the vulnerable working class hardened by rising inflation and the fallout from sanctions on Russia over its invasion hit Ukraine – and what they call the “elitists” of Macron’s staunch pro-EU voters.
Whether Le Pen can break the blanket of fear that helped block her presidential bid is key to winning enough seats in parliament.
Le Pen’s program, which would crack down on immigrants and diminish the role of the EU and NATO in France, sent many voters into Macron’s arms. That was not because of their support for the 44-year-old president, but because of their desire to block his populist opponent. Le Pen also questioned why France is sending arms to Ukraine.
A reshaped France under Le Pen – with less Europe – also sidelined some voters. Their aim was to create a “Europe of Nations” and replace the current system with a patriotic version that would have returned some powers to EU countries, which they and other populist leaders believe their sovereignty has been reduced .
Italian right-wing leader Matteo Salvini, a close Le Pen ally, pledged to continue their joint project towards that vision.
“Forward together for a Europe founded on jobs, family, security, rights and freedom,” he said in a tweet late Sunday.
In her concession speech on Sunday night, Le Pen turned to other right-wing “patriots” to join their efforts to break Macron’s majority in parliament.
But the open arms policy will not appear to include those who left Le Pen during the presidential campaign, several senior party officials have said, referring to party members who backed rival far-right candidate Eric Zemmour, who was eliminated in the first round.
Zemmour, who insulted Le Pen after their loss, in the same breath called for an alliance of rights to defeat Macron.
“He should empty his head, which is enormous,” Louis Aliot, mayor of Perpignan and a senior figure in the National Rally, said on Radio France-Inter on Monday.
Even Le Pen’s popular niece, Marion Marechal, who was among those who supported Zemmour, called for a meeting to build a far-right electoral coalition. “The stakes are vital to the general election,” Marechal tweeted.
The National Assembly currently has 577 seats, of which Macron and his allies control 313. Le Pen’s party now has just 8 seats but is hoping for broad support from other parties to hamper Macron’s ability to push his agenda through.
The French electoral system itself is a major obstacle to Le Pen’s parliamentary ambitions.
Had she become president, Le Pen would have switched to a broadly proportional system that would have allowed her party to prevail, at least by being able to form a faction that would give it more clout.
The parliamentary vote in France will take place in two rounds on June 12th and 19th. The candidates who achieve the majority in the first ballot are elected. If no one does – a common occurrence in France’s fractured political landscape – those who get at least 12.5% of the vote in a race will enter a runoff on June 19.
Sunday’s defeat of the president still sparks hope for tomorrow for far-right militants.
“The movement that we have created is at the very beginning,” said Jordan Bardella, who serves as interim party leader.
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Alex Turnbull in Paris and Colleen Barry in Milan contributed.
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Follow all AP reports on the 2022 French presidential election at https://apnews.com/hub/french-election-2022